Ubuntu Prototype Uses Facial Recognition to Interact With UI

Canonical Design recently announced that they will be implementing some sort of intelligent user interface in future builds of the Ubuntu operating system, starting with your webcam.

Canonical Design’s new user interface uses proximity and orientation sensors to react to the way a user is sitting and where they are sitting. Additionally, it also tracks where the user’s eyes and head are. With this technology, a user can interact with the UI elements of the operating system without physically clicking or typing. The company has yet to release all of the plans of integrating this feature into the Ubuntu operating system.

However, they did demonstrate one seemingly useful feature. As seen in the video below, when a user starts a video and leans back in his chair, the video automatically enters full screen, making it easier to see. This feature could also be used if the user were to walk away from the computer. In this instance, if a notification were to appear, it would appear in full screen so that the user could read it from far away.

The company isn’t stopping at just webcams. They revealed that proximity could eventually be detected using infrared or ultrasound sensors. There is no word on when this technology will actually be released, but it is definitely something to look forward to. Though similar software has been released for other operating systems, most of them are not built into the operating system itself.

To stay updated on developments from Canonical Design, check out their blog.

Via Engadget

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